The non-renewal of half-yearly contracts for contractual employees at civic-run peripheral hospitals, including pharmacists, laboratory technicians, community development officers (medical social workers), and other technical staff, has disrupted services for hundreds of patients. Relatives of patients are now forced to visit private laboratories for testing.

One of the worst-hit facilities is the Khurshedji Behramji Bhabha Municipal General Hospital (KBBH) in Bandra West. In early December, four contractual pharmacists stopped reporting to work, leading to severe staff shortages. The hospital`s pharmacy now operates only from 8 am to 4 pm with two staff members instead of six. This has severely impacted the hospital`s ability to provide free medicines, despite a daily patient inflow of 800 to 1,000.